It’s my contention that “muscle memory”, fast reflexes and quick thinking are more important in bird photography than they are in most other types of photography. Our subjects often don’t give us time to think about things like camera settings and their interplay with depth of field, shutter speed and focal lengths. All we can do is start out with settings that we predict will come close to being appropriate for the situation when it occurs and then hope we know our camera well enough that we can instantly fine-tune those settings before the opportunity is gone.
And with birds that opportunity often lasts for only a heartbeat. Or less.
1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
About three weeks ago I was photographing other less interesting birds at a local pond when this Common Merganser appeared right in front of me from out of nowhere. It was swimming slightly away from me and looking in the same direction so there was no use firing my shutter until (and if) the bird turned to look back at me. If that happened the head turn was likely to only last for an instant so I had a decision to make because I knew I might be too close to the bird (this image is full frame) to get enough depth of field at f/6.3 to get the entire bird sharp.
Do I take my finger off the shutter button to adjust my aperture for more DOF and risk missing the head turn if it happens? Or do I stay at f/6.3 and hope for two things – that the bird turns more broadside to me so I’ll have enough DOF and that it also gives me a head turn? I chose the latter and I lost the gamble.
The bird did give me this head turn that lasted only for an instant and I got the shot. But it hadn’t turned more broadside to me so even though the head is acceptably sharp the body is soft. Too soft for my tastes.
In hindsight I wish I’d have been at about f/11 – f/13. That might have made the body just sharp enough. But if I’d done that I’d probably also have needed to increase my ISO to keep my shutter speed up. In this situation I just didn’t have enough time to fiddle-fart with settings that much and for me this result is unacceptable.
There are times in the field when I wish I was a landscape or portrait photographer so my subjects gave me ample time to set up my shots…
Ron
PS – Yes, I know I went photo-geeky on you again today and some readers aren’t into the techniques of photography, only the results. But some of my readers are bird photographers and I thought this subject might be of some interest to them. Back to more typical fare tomorrow…
Photo-geeky is fun. I learn that way. 🙂
Keep up with the photogeek stuff! I’m rather new at bird photography (shooting with a Nikon d7200) and continually struggle with soft images vs noisy images when the ISO is higher. Will have to try f11 or 13 and see if that helps with the soft. Thanks!
Thanks for the encouragement, Linda.
Going to f/11/f/13 wouldn’t improve the sharpness of your images at your point of focus, only where it increases your depth of field in other parts of the image. And keep in mind it would also decrease your shutter speed so especially at long focal lengths in could decrease overall sharpness due to camera shake.
Yes, I think I’m understanding you. I was talking about when the focal part of the image is crisp but the wings or tail are soft. Would the f11/f13 help with that? Thanks! (PS Such wonderful pics! I don’t remember what link I followed to get here but this has become a daily favorite for me!)
In fact, I wouldn’t love to ask you a question about your equipment. I am upgrading to DSLR in order to try my hand at your sport. Currently torn between a Canon 7D II body and an 80D. Is there an appropriate place to ask you your equipment choice decisions?
It’s fine to ask that question here, Art.
My preference for gear can be seen in my techs below my images. When it comes to photography I don’t try to save a few bucks at the expense of getting what I believe is the best Canon gear for my needs. I prefer a cropped frame camera for birds with a fast burst rate, relatively large file size, a sophisticated and fast focusing system and good handling of noise when I bump up my ISO. The 7D Mark II is my camera of choice.
The 7 frames/sec burst rate of the 80D would be much too slow for my purposes.
Ron, a great number of us, or at least me, are as thankful for your bird photography lessons as your bird lessons and artwork. Keep it up at least part of the time, please!
I appreciate your comment, Art. I try to mix things up here on Feathered Photography, mostly between photos I like, behaviors, bird biology, and photo technique. Yes, that mix will likely continue.
Great photo!
Sorry for not commenting lately, I’ve been pretty busy with school starting up again recently, and I was visiting family over break.
Thanks, Levi. Family and school come first – that’s as it should be.
I can appreciate the tech talk even though I am camera-illiterate. (Those who can, do. Those who cannot, read the blogs of those who can!).
I like the slight softness of the bird’s tush — it makes me think of the bird being “at one” with the water. Plus, the contrast between the crispness of the head and softness of the rear, as well as the overall angle if the bird, really makes the head pop for me.
That being said, I totally get the streak of perfectionism! 🙂
Interesting perspective, Marty. Thanks for providing it.
Muscle memory? My muscles (like the rest of me) are slow learners.
Definitely an interesting post – as they all are – with the added benefit of yet another bird I will not see.
I’m glad you enjoyed it, EC. Thanks.
Great post. I tend to focus on getting the shot- the head turn.
🙂
You covered some of the issues I so often have wondered about…that you are able to make the captures that youvdo seem beyond possible to me, yet, somehow, you manage to do it….I think this is a beautiful shot of a merganser…like the water,too…
Good, Patty. Sounds like this post filled in some of the blanks for you.
In my opinion, the primary object in bird photography is “get the image” and if you are lucky and its not quite right, you might have the opportunity to fine tune your equipment to make the next shot better. So, you start with what usually works for you. Depending on your subject, a large percentage of the time its far enough away that f/5.6 to f/7.1 (using either a 400mm DOII or 600mm IS II with 1.4x convert on both) provides sufficient DOF. So, typically this is where I will start. It only starts to become an issue as your subject gets close, as your Merganser is here. So, working on the premise to get the image first, the primary objective is to get that focus point on the most important part of the bird, the eye. As you obviously have. In my mind, having the eye in focus is critical to a successful image, and a little softness of the rest of the bird becomes somewhat acceptable. If you don’t have the eye(s) in focus, you don’t have an image. In this case, your strategy was correct, you got the shot with the Merganser’s head in the right position. Your next step would be to stop down to get a better DOF hoping the Merganser would give you another opportunity. But I would also wager that Mergansers going to move away from you and the same settings as the original shot will now “work” for you.
Thanks for the post Ron. I really enjoyed the exercise and doing so helps me think about what I would do in similar circumstances. Any suggestions on your part regarding my thinking is always appreciated.
You made excellent points that I agree with, Frank. As far as I can tell the only thing we differ on slightly is how much softness is acceptable on the body if the head and eye are sharp. And that’s a personal thing of course.
And you’d have won your wager. This bird never looked back again and it was gone a few seconds later. If I remember correctly it dived (dove? – I believe both are acceptable).
Oh the challenges of life. Whether ’tis nobler to fart or fiddle fart? That is the question 😉
In my world, I’d be lucky to get the merganser in the shot at all. But I GET your perfectionist tendencies! Have a GREAT day!
Thanks for that taste of The Bard in your comment, Laura. Made me smile.
But Ron birds are sooooo much more exciting and challenging for us competitive types
Ha, my feelings too, Marina. I would be bored to tears as a landscape photographer hanging around for hours waiting for that perfect light, that sunset or clouds to come in to make the shot more interesting.
I’m definitely not a photo geek, but I am always interested in seeing photos that are “too soft” for your tastes. I invariably have to zoom way in on them to see what you are talking about. When I just look at the photo at regular size, it looks fine to me.
That may be because your attention is mostly focused on the head, Susan. The head and eye nearly always draw us in first. But I see the whole bird and it’s just too darned soft back there for me. Different strokes, and that’s ok…
Amen, Rocky!
As always a beautiful photograph! I especially like ‘photo-geeky’! Valuable information to me as I learn more about bird photography.
Good! I appreciate knowing that, Kathy.
I really like how you ended it , “There are times in the field when I wish I was a landscape or portrait photographer so my subjects gave me ample time to set up my shots”..
Thank you. I just hope no landscape or portrait photographer takes offense because they thought I might be implying that their photography choice was easy. I’m not…
I would have chosen as you did and stuck with the shot and hoped the DOF worked itself out in the end. And of course, in the few seconds it would have taken to increase your DOF, that Merganser would have given you the shot and you would have missed it completely. We’ve all missed shots for dorking around with our gear or chimping our previous images. I like the tech talk on your blog. Thanks for sharing with us all 🙂
Zaphir, I appreciate the positive feedback about “tech talk”. It isn’t for everyone so it’s nice to know it’s interesting to at least some of my readers.
Personally I never chimp in the field for a variety of reasons. Among them the fact that on my blog I often use images that are less than ideal technically because they show interesting behavior or include some fine detail of structure or something else that I might miss seeing on the small screen of my camera. I think it would drive me nuts to wonder what little gem I might have deleted… 🙂
Hi Ron- I feel the pain! I use the same equipment as you and have had great success shooting manual with auto iso. And 2 quick dials for shutter speed and aperture. Works for me. Enjoy your blog and honesty!
Bob, As you know both manual and aperture priority have their advantages and disadvantages in certain situations. I’m convinced that the most important thing is to choose one of them and stick with it until it’s engrained in your muscle memory so you can make adjustments quickly, almost without thinking.
Nice insights into the decision tree of bird photography. Very helpful. What I am looking for is birds with slower reflexes than me. So far, no luck!
Porcupine
Thanks, Porcupine. There’s no question that birds are tough subjects.
Perfectionist you are! I have to admit I am a lesser one then you.
I would have been delighted with that head shot and dealt with the soft body.
Planning ahead is so important when stepping out the door with camera and lens in tow. You have to decide when to make the shot. Then between shots make adjustments, sometimes in error, BUT experience is the name of the game!
My morning is cheered and i am personally delighted every morning when I witness your exceptional photography!
All I can do is to Thank you for sharing your art and secrets.
Dick, I even go so far as to (just before I leave the house on a photo trip) adjust my camera settings for the conditions I think I’ll have when I arrive at my destination perhaps an hour later. That has saved my bacon more than once when I’ve encountered a bird before I expected to.
Thanks very much for your kind words.
You obviously think much faster than I do. Nice shot. My thought process is more like. Is it in focus. Am I going to fall off something. What is that noise behind me.
That made me smile, Ron. Thanks for that.
“Photo-geeky” is fine with me! Still a nice shot of the “red head”. They are interesting birds to watch particularly when they have little ones. 🙂
I’ve never had a chance with very young mergansers, Judy. Perhaps some day…